documentary film

Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh with a poster of South Africa's Nelson Mandela, in a scene from the Nasrin documentary.

World News

'Nasrin' Documentary Spotlights Life And Work Of Jailed Iranian Human Rights Lawyer

11:57am October 30, 2020

by Deborah Amos

A new film focuses on Nasrin Sotoudeh, a leading human rights lawyer whose health is declining in prison. "She is the closest thing that Iran has to Nelson Mandela," says analyst Karim Sadjadpour.

Rosine Mbakam (left) and her mother on the set of 'The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman,' which represents their intergenerational differences.

Whatever Happened To ... The Filmmaker Focusing On A New Face For African Women?

3:26pm September 08, 2020

by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

Rosine Mbakam was headed from Belgium to Cameroon, her homeland, to make a documentary. Then lockdown struck. So did inspiration for a new topic: How coronavirus is linked to the "virus" of racism.

Maria Ressa, CEO of the Rappler news site, leaves a Philippine regional trial court after being convicted for cyber libel on June 15. Ressa, a veteran journalist and outspoken critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, is the focus of A Thousand Cuts, a documen

Philippine Journalist Maria Ressa: 'Journalism Is Activism'

8:26am August 06, 2020

The documentary A Thousand Cuts focuses on how Ressa and her Rappler news organization navigate Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's attacks on the press. It will be released in the U.S. Aug. 8.

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World News

'Insurrection Of The Elite': Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker On Rise Of Brazil's Far-Right

8:01am February 09, 2020

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Petra Costa about the backlash she's faced from Brazil's right-wing government for her Oscar-nominated documentary "The Edge Of Democracy."

Israeli lawyer Lea Tsemel, 75, in her Jerusalem office. The documentary Advocate, about her work representing Palestinian suspects accused of attacks on Israelis, has sparked controversy in Israel.

The 'Losing Lawyer' In Israel Who Defends Palestinians Charged With Violence

9:42am January 15, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

Lea Tsemel, 75, has lost case after case for decades and has received death threats as a Jew representing Arabs. Her notoriety in Israel has grown since last year's release of a documentary about her.

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Journalist and filmmaker Waad al-Kateab filmed the documentary For Sama in her hometown of Aleppo, Syria. "You could be killed at any moment," Kateab says. You are always "expecting something worse." For Sama will be in theaters July 26 and distributed by

A New Mother Stays In Syria: 'For Sama' Is The Movie She Made For Her Baby

10:25pm July 24, 2019

by Rachel Martin

Waad al-Kateab's documentary is a series of intimate portraits of daily life, marriage and motherhood in Aleppo. Her documentary For Sama is written as a letter to her newborn daughter.

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The immortal film poster for The Endless Summer, which you may recognize from New York's Museum of Modern Art, not to mention college dorm room walls across the country.

Remembering Bruce Brown, Whose Search For The Perfect Break Redefined Surfing

5:57pm December 13, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Brown, who died Sunday at the age of 80, revolutionized how the world viewed the sport with The Endless Summer. But first, he had to struggle to get his beloved movie seen.

Philippe Mora, whose father made life-saving baguettes during WWII, displays his graphic of his father, Georges Mora, and his godfather, Marcel Marceau, making mayonnaise together.

World News

'Monsieur Mayonnaise': The Sandwich King Who Saved Jewish Children From Nazis

10:33am March 09, 2017

by Morgan Childs

For years, Philippe Mora wondered how his father earned this nickname. A new documentary reveals the answer: He slathered passports in mayo and hid them in messy, hard-to-inspect baguettes.

Director Errol Morris first collaborated with composer Philip Glass on the 1988 documentary The Thin Blue Line.

Music & Culture

Errol Morris: The American Institution Of Philip Glass

4:37pm January 23, 2017

by Errol Morris

The director of documentaries like The Thin Blue Line and The Fog of War once told the composer his music wasn't repetitive enough.

Khaldiya Jibawi makes an appearance in her documentary.

Syrian Teen's 9-Minute Doc Hits Cannes, Sundance, L.A. Film Fest

7:00am June 05, 2016

by Gabriela Saldivia

After her family fled to a refugee camp, she took a workshop in making videos. Her film about day-to-day life is now making the festival rounds.